For those of you who participated in the 10:4 Challenge, September 1st marked the end of our 4 month quest to develop healthy habits and, if needed, would lose 10 pounds in the process. I missed my goal by a pound and the fault lies squarely with me. Ultimately, it wasn’t a failure though as I have made some small changes.

While I didn’t totally eliminate soda pop from my daily routine, I have cut back from what I normally drank. I have also drank more juice and more water than was my usual habit. In addition I significantly reduced the number of times I eat out at fast food joints during the work week and have eaten much more healthy food for lunches. I also don’t snack every single night like I used to. It has been a challenge of small victories, with 9 pounds lost.

And if you recall, this was all about increasing healthy habits that would benefit in the long run, not about crash dieting and losing weight. I feel so happy with the overall results that I am wanting to challenge myself, and anyone else who wants to participate, again.

So, I bring you:

Continue reading Random R.I.P.ings…and Book Giveaways! →

I began September’s inaugural Short Story Sunday prompty at the witching hour, cracking open my recently purchased copy of The Call of Cthulu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft.

After a bit of sleep, I continued my exploration of Lovecraft in the light of a beautiful day. One of the many reasons I love spring and fall is the option to read outdoors. It is such a wonderful experience. As I began reading I noticed that a black bird was sitting on a wire, watching me. He was soon joined by others, one at a time. If it wasn’t for the bright and shining sun I would have been convinced that I was in a remake of The Birds.

Continue reading Short Story Sunday, the First →

September: it was the most beautiful of words, he’d always felt, evoking orange-flowers, swallows, and regret.
~Alexander Theroux

Though shimmering heat, bright sun, and the sounds of summer laughter belie the fact, it is indeed that time of year, time to embrace melancholy, to seek out things that go bump in the night, to find beauty in darkness. Yes, it is OFFICIALLY the beginning of the R.eader’s I.mbibing P.eril Challenge, Part II. Though myself and others have gotten an early start on this year’s gothic goodness (as evidenced by the growing list of reviews), the actual dates for the R.I.P. II Challenge are September 1st through October 31st, 2007.

Continue reading R.I.P. II….It’s official!!! →

(Cover for Colleen Gleason’s forthcoming third novel in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles series, Feb. 2008)

Two days remain before the ‘official’ start of the R.I.P. II Challenge and here I am, raising the stakes, announcing the second giveaway opportunity for you dear Challenge readers (The first is mentioned in the R.I.P. II post, if you’ve forgotten).

As you may know, I have a special place in my heart for author Colleen Gleason. She is the first author I ‘met’ through the wonder of blogging and she has been a great supporter of my site ever since the first time she came for a visit. It has been a great pleasure watching her become a published author. It has been an even greater pleasure to be able to honestly say how much I have enjoyed her first two novels in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles series. That enjoyment, coupled with the fact that Colleen Gleason is just a wonderful person, means that I do my best to lead the cheer squad in promoting her work.

And so, the mini-skirt is on again, I am picking up my pom-poms, and awaaaaay we go…

Continue reading Raising the Stakes →